


young, forever in the sun

by justdk



Series: keep it together [4]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fluff, Gen, POV Blue Sargent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21679696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdk/pseuds/justdk
Summary: Noah pays a visit to 300 Fox Way and helps Blue with an art project
Relationships: Noah Czerny & Blue Sargent
Series: keep it together [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560091
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22
Collections: Czernsgiving 2019 A Noah Week





	young, forever in the sun

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Czernsgiving Day 4: Remembered
> 
> Title from Ultralife by Oh Wonder

There were a thousand little children clustered around Blue and each one of them had something to say and she needed to hear it _right now_. Blue puffed at a loose strand of hair that kept tickling her eyebrow and did her best to corral the mess of kids around the old beech tree. Her mother had woken her up early that morning and pointedly asked her if she could do a workshop with some of her younger cousins –very distantly related – and their friends.

So here she was, sweating under the Henrietta sun trying to mix up cement for the mosaics that they would be making. The children had already spent the morning gathering items for their mosaics, adding to the collections they had brought from home. The piles of marbles, toys, broken crockery, buttons, and mashed coins glittered like treasure in the grass. Blue had her own stash tucked away in the pocket of her denim overalls; she was hoping to get a chance to work on her mosaic once the little ones had a grasp on what to do.

With much hollering and scolding, Blue managed to mix up the cement and distribute it into the molds. The urchins’ loud laughter and chatter ebbed as they set about their task with serious concentration. Treasure was as jealously guarded as designs for fear of copycat snatching; nothing set off children of a certain age more than having their rival or friend deliberately copy their ideas.

Blue settled against the tangled roots of the beech tree and cracked her neck from side to side, releasing some tension and relaxing into her art project. Sweat trickled down her neck and her hair was still being as unmanageable as ever, poking the corner of her eye. Blue tried to swat the errant strands with her forearm – her hands messy with cement – but accomplished nothing.

“May I?” Noah’s words danced along her skin refreshingly cool like walking into an air-conditioned house on a scorching summer day. Blue glanced to the side and found him kneeling next to her, his slim hand raised to tuck the hair back.

“Hey, Noah,” Blue said with a smile. She raised her grubby hands and waved at her hair. “Please, whatever you can do.”

Noah’s fingers were careful as her undid one of her hair clips and smoothed her hair back, capturing the rough tuffs of hair and keeping them out of her face. He looked her over once; making sure the hair would stay, and then grinned and pat her head.

“All better,” Noah announced. He sat back on the grass, resting his weight on his hands. “What are you making?”

“Art project.” Blue wiped her fingers on a rag and sorted through her pile of beads and baubles, mentally mapping out a design. “We’re making mosaics and I wanted to create something the symbolized the past few months. Like a time capsule but one I can look at whenever I want.”

Noah shuffled closer on his knees and leaned into Blue’s space. “Can I see?”

“Sure.” Blue gestured at the pile and Noah started picking through it, holding up each item like it was the Holy Grail. He spent a while admiring a galaxy marble and broken bracelet of silvery stars that sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight.

“I like this one best,” Noah said, holding the starry bracelet on the tip of his finger. He picked up a battered, orange Hot Wheels car and zoomed it over his knee and onto Blue’s thigh. “This if for Gansey, right?” His lips pulled back into a knowing smile.

“Pshaw.” Blue blushed and plucked the car from his hand. “There wasn’t a helicopter lying around.”

There was quite a collection of broken glass and beads, though. Blue started placing them around the edge of her circular mold, making a border. Noah helped and they worked in companionable silence, listening to the happy noises of the children at work and the soothing sound of the wind blowing through the branches of the beech. A bee buzzed by, searching for wild clover, and Blue stared after it. She had always liked bees but now she had a distrust of them and their stingers.

“It’s been seven years since then,” Noah said, breaking into her thoughts, “and he hasn’t been stung again.” He caught Blue’s gaze and held it. “I don’t think it’ll be bees that get him.”

Blue didn’t ask what Noah thought would spell Gansey’s death. She didn’t want to think about it on this bright, lively day. She didn’t particularly want to think about Noah, sweet and gentle Noah, being dead, either.

They finished the border and Blue examined their work, trying to decide what to place next. A moment of inspiration struck and she grabbed Noah’s wrist in excitement. Instantly Noah’s presence strengthened; he seemed more solid and his face even gained a bit of color.

“I have an idea!” Blue’s fingers burned against Noah’s cold skin. “Let’s put your handprint in the middle and then I’ll wrap the bracelet at the bottom of the print, like you’re wearing it around your wrist. What do you think?”

“Really?” Noah ducked his head shyly, looking quietly pleased.

“Definitely.” Blue tugged at Noah’s wrist and he obliged, pressing his palm into the wet cement. Blue helped hold his hand down and made a sound of approval when the print was revealed. She carefully arranged the bracelet, using the pointy end of a barrette to press it in place. “That’s perfect.”

“You should draw the ley line,” Noah suggested, “right here.” He pointed to the palm of his hand. His expression was difficult to interpret; it was a little wistful and bittersweet.

“Okay.” Blue used her trusty barrette to make the shape of the three curving, intersecting lines. In the middle of the design she placed the galaxy marble that Noah had admired.

From there the rest of the design flowed together. She circled Noah’s hand with her found objects: the car, a stone from the brook in Cabeswater, a dented Coca-Cola bottle cap, a piece of oyster shell from the raven, a pair of broken earbuds with flames on them, a key, a lucky penny. Cheap plastic animals and birds and flowers nestled among lovely glass beads and shiny slivers of mirror. When it was all done the mosaic looked more chaotic than ordered, but that was how it should be, Blue thought.

Noah grinned and offered her a high five. “I love it,” he said earnestly.

“Me too,” Blue agreed. “It’s a little capsule of everything I want to remember.” She bumped her hip against Noah’s. “Especially you.”

She wasn’t sure if Noah could blush but it certainly looked like he was. He leaned into her, draping a long arm around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” Noah said. His eyes met hers and he smiled conspiratorially. “You always remember your first kiss, right?”

Now it was Blue’s turn to blush. She pinched Noah’s side and laughed. “Oh you.”

Noah laughed too and hugged her tighter, his eyes flashing with life. “Oh me.”

—–

When the mosaic was dry Blue moved it to her room in a place of honor in her shrine of salvaged art. Years went by and she kept the mosaic with her and she never forgot the boy with the smudgy face and the kind laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr @dkafterdark


End file.
